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Mary W Walters's avatar

I write fiction and nonfiction for the same reason. Every time I send out a piece I've written for publication to an impossibly lofty magazine or journal, I launch myself into a fantasy world that lasts for several days. It actually improves my self-esteem, for no good reason. But it also makes me happy and hopeful.

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John Howe's avatar

Brilliant! (As is Richard Russo, IMO.) I think there's another reason, fully consistent with what you've written: If I am poor and have very little human capital, the lottery--however long odds it may be--is perhaps the only way I can substantially change my life. From the example: $11K 20 years from now is hardly life-changing. And if I (implicitly) use hyperbolic discounting, it is worth virtually nothing to me.

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